Laura Norton and Mark Jordon were forced to put their wedding plans on hold as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The ‘Emmerdale’ actress and her former co-star were keen to tie the knot this year, but after making some plans for a 2020 nuptials they have had to shelve them amid the global health crisis and after discovering Laura is expecting their first child together.
Mark – who played Daz Spencer on the ITV soap – said: "We had hoped it would be this year. I went off on a tour and we were planning everything and we were like, ‘As soon as the tour is done we can scoot off…’
"And now this pandemic has happened. And now something else [Laura’s pregnancy] has happened."
Laura – who portrays Kerry Wyatt on ‘Emmerdale’ – and Mark met on the set of the soap, but after becoming "really good friends" they were reluctant to embark on a relationship in case they ruined their friendship.
The 37-year-old actress said: "When we first told each other we liked each other we just went, ‘Shall we just leave it? Shall we just stay as friends? It’s probably best.’
"So, it was months after we actually told each other."
Mark, 55, added: "We were really good friends. We kept re-examining the question and eventually it was a bit more of a question."
But Laura revealed the former ‘Heartbeat’ actor – who has children Joseph, 22, and Poppy, 19, with his ex Siobhan Finneran – "got brave" and asked her out, but their first date didn’t go too well.
Speaking in a joint interview on ‘Loose Women’, Mark said: "That didn’t go brilliantly, but nevertheless, that was a sign of our life."
Laura added: "That set the tone from the rest of our relationship."
The couple revealed in January 2019 that they were engaged and had kept their engagement a secret for seven months.